120 Bowl, Rice, Paper Money

 

“Notification for Player 0000! You have accepted Grade G Main Mission-- The 4-Way Junction!

“There are 100 ways to die at the 4 way junction. You have to complete this mission alone. Find the bowl that is placed beside the altar at the neighbourhood entrance. Pick it up and walk across the street. Tap against the bowl with each step. The mission will be successful once you’ve reached the opposite side of the street.” The mission description alone did not sound that difficult. The street outside the neighbourhood was about 7 metres wide, he could cross it with at most 20 steps. “The Main Mission’s difficulty is between Hidden Mission and Side Mission, I shan’t let my guard down.”

To be honest, Han Fei was averse against leaving the neighbourhood so soon, if possible, he’d rather leave it after he reached level 20. Regardless, the system was not going to let him have his way. No mission popped up inside the neighbourhood. “I should go scout out the place first. If it’s too dangerous, I’ll just abandon the mission.”

Han Fei wandered over to the neighbourhood entrance. He looked out at the streets dipped in darkness. The whole city was dead. There was not even a shadow out on the street, much less cars or pedestrians. There were shops open but their lights were off. 

‘The mission requires that I commit to it alone. In other words, I can’t rely on my neighbours. I wonder if the ghost tattoo counts as a ‘neighbour’ or a unique item…’ Han Fei did not want to trouble his neighbour too much either but he had no confidence he could return to the neighbourhood alive once he left it. For the sake of the security, Han Fei went back to Room 1044 to find Wei Youfu.

He wanted Wei Youfu to bring Little Eight across the street and wait for him on the other side. To his disappointment, Youfu told him that Little Eight was unable to leave Happiness Neighbourhood. Once she did, it would immediately attract the attention of something horrid. That was the previous manager’s warning. Since his roommates were unable to help, Han Fei turned towards Xu Qin.

“Big Sister, I need to cross to the other side of the street in front of the neighbourhood. Do you mind being a lookout for me?”

“Do you know what is on the other side of the street?” Xu Qin instead countered with her own question.

“Some kind of danger?”

“Bingo. Then again, there is no place in this city that is not dangerous.” Xu Qin continued after some hesitation, “If you insist on going, I won’t stop you, but here are a few things that you need to take note of. First, do not idle at the same spot for more than 10 minutes. Second, do not talk to anyone. Third, if someone calls your name, come back to the neighbourhood immediately. Fourth, and this is the most important one. If you find yourself lost, do not trust anything you see. Stay where you are and I will go get you.”

“Okay.”

“Also…” Xu Qin took out the shortest table knife from her kitchen and wrapped it inside a doily. “Keep this inside your pocket. Do not touch it directly. Only use it when necessary.”

“Understood.” The doily was made from human skin. The skin doily isolated the curse inside the knife so it would not hurt Han Fei that much. When he was all prepared, Han Fei left Apartment 1 with Xu Qin and came to the neighbourhood entrance.

“I’ll have to make the rest of the journey myself.”

“Remember what I said. Now, go ahead.” Pushing open the rusted gate, Han Fei turned back to look. The two old apartments stood quite clearly in the dark. “I’ve played so many games and this is the first game that makes me wish that I can stay at the first stage forever.” Han Fei eventually took his first step out of the neighbourhood. Through the rusted bars, Xu Qin waved at him. Her tongue licked at her bright lips, like a chef wondering how to cook this new ingredient. Han Fei rubbed his temples. He knew Xu Qin would never harm him. But ever since he stepped out from the neighbourhood, various negative thoughts implanted themselves in his mind.

‘I need to calm down and finish this mission as fast as possible. I shan’t stay out here for long.’ Han Fei remembered everything Xu Qin said. He planned to use 5 minutes to complete the mission and then rush back into the safety of Happiness Neighbourhood. ‘The first thing I need to do is to find the bowl placed next to the altar…’ Han Fei looked around and spotted an aged altar not far from the gates. The altar was draped over with a black cloth so Han Fei couldn’t tell what kind of deity, if any, that it housed. Han Fei suppressed the urge to pull the cloth back. He spotted a china bowl which was placed before the altar. The bowl was splintered with cracks but somehow managed to stay in one piece. There was rice inside the bowl and each grain appeared to have something carved on them.

‘I need to knock against this bowl with each step, will the bowl shatter from impact?’ Han Fei carefully picked up the bowl. Before he even took his first step, he heard an old man’s voice saying, “Put the bowl back down and return from whence you came.” Turning around, Han Fei saw an old man squatting at the sidewalk in front of Happiness Neighbourhood. He held a brazier and a thick stack of paper money sat inside it. “That junction collects Yin energy, you wouldn’t believe the kind of creatures that it attracts. If you carry a bowl with rice, you’re just asking for the hungry ghosts to come get you!” The old man explained to Han Fei. His tone was filled with kindness and concern. “Listen to this old man. The junction is like a well where Yin energy flows in from all sides. Heed my advice. Put down the bowl, burn some paper money at the altar, apologize to it and perhaps you’ll be forgiven.”

Then the old man sneaked out a wrinkled picture from his pocket and placed it inside the brazier.

Han Fei was not going to abandon the mission so easily. He took his first step into the street and knocked against the side of the bowl. Hearing the crisp clink, the old man gasped in fright. He hurried over to Han Fei. “What are you doing? Why are you trying to summon them? Do you not want to live anymore?!”

Han Fei ignored the old man. He had a good impression of the old man until the old man took out the wrinkled picture. In Chinese culture, burning someone’s portrait, especially if said person was still alive, was no different from placing a curse on them. Furthermore, Han Fei still remembered the brazier and his own death portrait from the Manager Mission. In this world, destruction of a person’s portrait appeared to have the property of draining them of their life energy. Han Fei saw clearly that the picture the old man took out was someone’s portrait. The picture was too aged to tell the captured person’s identity. If Han Fei heeded the old man’s advice, perhaps the picture would take on Han Fei’s resemblance and he’d perish in flames.

Without answering the old man, Han Fei took another step and tapped against the bowl again. Laughter came from the other side of the street. A boy in red walked over holding his little sister’s hand. “Big brother, big brother, can you walk us home?” The pair of children accosted Han Fei. Han Fei gave them a cold gaze. He grumbled internally, ‘I’m too busy to walk you home at the moment, but in the future, I might help send you to your eternal rest.’

Ignoring the interruption, Han Fei took another step. The boy took a similar step back and pleaded. “Big brother, big brother, my sister and I can’t find our way home. Can you help us?”

Han Fei turned a deaf ear to the boy’s plea. However, he noticed that whenever he took a step forward, the boy and the girl would take a similar step back. Normally, ghosts would be crazily aggressive but this pair of children appeared to need to stay a fixed distance away from Han Fei. Actually, now that Han Fei thought about it, the old man never got too close to stop him either.

‘Is it because of the bowl?’ The more he thought about it, the more confident he felt that he was correct. ‘The bowl appears to provide me protection, in that case, I shan’t worry too much.’ Han Fei’s most imminent concern was to complete the mission. Now that Han Fei had found a guardian in the bowl, he picked up his speed. He paced rapidly forward and the bowl ringed with each of his steps.

“Big brother, big brother…”

“Don’t go over there, young man! The hungry ghosts are coming!”

Han Fei closed his ears to these disturbances. He proceeded with his steps. But after he took his tenth step, he stopped. ‘How come it feels that I’m no closer to the other side?’

Han Fei looked ahead. There was a splatter of blood on the wall at the opposite side of the street. Han Fei did not move forward but for some reason, the splash of blood enlarged in his eyes as it took on the frame of a human.

“Kid, get back here! This junction is cursed, it’s a traffic accident hotspot. In fact, only a few days ago, two children were knocked over by a van. The van eventually skidded to a stop at the other side of the street.”

“Big brother, big brother, let’s go home!”

“Young man, come back while you still can! If you go over there, you won’t be able to come back anymore!”

The voices crowded his ears. Han Fei resisted the urge to grab the knife and continued his way forward. He was still no closer to reaching his destination, but the sound of the old man and the boy did fade away.

‘The ghosts finally left?’ Han Fei moved his neck slightly. When he looked back from the corner of his eye, his expression changed. Happiness Neighbourhood had disappeared, instead there was a street that he could not recognize at all. ‘There’s really no way back?’

Han Fei stopped to study his surroundings. The blood stain thickened like the person inside the wall was about to crawl out. ‘I can’t idle for more than 10 minutes at a fixed spot, but if I wander aimlessly on my own, I’d move further away from Xu Qin. I should have noticed that my senses have been inhabited by some unseen force.’ Han Fei lifted up his hand. He looked at the landlord’s ring but he could feel nothing from it. Not even a pinprick of chill. ‘Ever since the old man appeared, the ring has been inactive. Looks like I’ve walked into a trap.’

Now that Han Fei understood that, he started to scan through his inventory. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anything that would help his current situation.

‘Like Xu Qin has told me, if I’m lost, do not trust anything I see or hear. The thing I need to do now is to calm down. I just need to wait until Xu Qin arrives.’ With the plan made, Han Fei found his heart easing. He took out one of the landlord’s cigarettes. ‘There’s no point in panicking. Since I have nothing else to do at the moment, why not take a smoke break?’